4.05.2010

Giveaway #10

Whew! I can't believe another week has come and gone. We are now on the 10th giveaway! I am extremely grateful for all the support I have received and I have some really great stuff coming up for you over the next couple of months. You are going to love the yarns and designers I have lined up!

With that being said, this week I am proud to announce that I have the wonderful and talented Kate Oates from Tottoppers here with us. Have you seen Kate's children's hats?! OMG, they are so freakin' adorable! She has also started a line of knitwear called When I Grow Up that features beautiful and classic styles for us grown-ups. Kate was kind enough to answer one of the fun little interviews I do and some of the questions I used in this interview were from the many suggestions I received a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

1. Kate, please tell the followers a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I'm a mom of many pursuits! In knitwear design I focus on sweet and whimsical knits for children & babies, and BOYS especially. I've recently started a new line for adults called "When I Grow Up" and its been really fun thinking about things I want to wear that still reflect my general style, which I would classify as fairly preppy! In my "other life" I'm finishing up a PhD in political science, and I have two children, boys ages 1 & 2. I stay pretty busy with all that!

2. How did you learn to knit?

My aunt taught me to knit when I was in middle school. She actually taught my younger sister first, and I was jealous and eventually got her to teach me as well. She is now a big part of my publishing process-as she does layout work for all my patterns! I absolutely don't know where I would be without her.

3. As a designer, what inspires you?

My children, the seasons, outdoors...really I can't point to one thing in particular because each design comes from a different place. A lot of the time something will pop into my head as I'm trying to fall asleep. On one hand this is really nice, on the other...well, sometimes I'm lacking in sleep for this reason!

4. Can you give us a hint at any future designs that you have in the works?

Well, I am really excited about my next design for When I Grow Up (adult line). Its a garment that I've never designed before. The sample has been knit & photographed, now I'm just working on writing up the pattern & grading. I also have a few ideas for next fall that I would consider spin-offs of some of my more popular patterns from this year. Keep an eye out for my designs in a few books and magazines coming out in the next year or so!

5. What knitting techniques are you scared of or hate doing?

There isn't anything that I absolutely won't do, but I will admit that I don't have a terrible fondness for lace. If I'm doing lacework, it has to be something I can memorize fairly quickly. I can't stand to have to be referencing a pattern for every line of work. Also, I have never knit a scarf. I learned to knit hats, so I never did the 'learning to knit' type scarves and don't wear them normally so, still haven't knit one! I used to be scared of charts but have found a new love for them :)

6. Where is your favorite place to knit?

Usually I knit in my rocker/glider in my living room. It was a gift to me before I had my first baby. Honestly, I think this thing is the most comfy chair ever! I don't think people should have to have babies to own a rocker/glider. Everyone needs one (and now both my mother in law and my own mom have bought their own gliders for their houses because they love mine so much!) However, now that the weather is getting nicer, I'm spending a lot of time knitting in the backyard. Its nice because the kids can play and I can knit at the same time (this doesn't happen so much when we are inside)

7. How many projects are on your needles?

Just one. I'm not really a multi-projecter. I'm more of a finisher. I have occasionally had 2-3 projects going at once but it really bothers me. Once I start something I want it to be finished as fast as possible so I hone in on it. I just recently knit the Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits (Stefanie Japel) over a weekend for this reason.

8. What yarn do you have in your stash that you're saving for a special project?

Actually, nothing! Seriously. I do have a good size stash, but once I buy yarn for a big project, I am fairly obsessive about getting it on the needles (see above question!) My stash is a bunch of single skeins. Since I do a lot of hats, this is great. It also gives me a lot of options when I'm swatching for new projects. As for favorite brands, like everyone else...I love Malabrigo. Spud & Chloe is a new brand as well, so perfect for children's garments.

9. If you could live and knit anywhere in the world, where would you knit and live?

I'm really happy living in the US. It's not something I take for granted. Now, there are loads of places I would love to visit & knit, but I want my children to grow up here, close to their grandparents/family!

10. And last but not least, if you were to be drinking a cocktail while reading my blog, what would it be?

A Margarita! Without a doubt. (runs off to go fix one...)

Thank you, Kate for doing the interview! In honor of Kate being here with us on the blog, she is giving away TWO of her Mary Swanson Cardi-Vest patterns and one of the lucky winners will also receive 2 skeins of Cascade Yarns Eco + in this fun raspberry dark pink (colorway 8448) to make the vest!

The Cascade Eco+ has been donated by my favorite LYS, Little Knits! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful store in my area to go to. Fulay with Little Knits has the best prices and a super selection of yummy yarns. If you have not visited her site yet, take a look because I know that you will not be disappointed. Thank you Fulay and Little Knits for sponsoring this giveaway!

A funny little story with all of this is that Sarah who was announced last week as the winner of the Cedar Tosh Lace does not only live in the greater Seattle area like me, but she also works at Little Knits! So, when I went to Little Knits this past weekend to do a little shopping and pick up the giveaway yarn, I got to actually meet Sarah in person! What a small world!

I would like you to do the following if you would like to be entered into this week's giveaway:

1) Have an address in the US to ship the yarn to. If you have a friend or relative that has a US mailing address who is willing to be your shipping sponsor, that will work as well. I will send it to them and they can then forward it on to you.

2) Post a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 4/11/2010, with either a question or comment for Kate Oates. Kate will be back with us at the end of this month to feature another great giveaway and answer some more of our questions.

3) Please post only one comment to give everyone a fair chance.

Again, I'll randomly pick the winners on Sunday and post the results on Monday along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

113 comments:

Kate-I love your hats. I find it hard to find boy things that are cute and boyish enough, especially for my "big" boy (5). I would love to see more options for summer hats for boys (I love the safari one)!!

Kate, I adore your hats! It's nice to see some boy friendly hats. For some reason those always seem harder to find. I have a lot of little boy cousins, and these are great for Christmas! (yes, I'm looking to start Christmas knitting already)

Have a friend who is due the first of June with a boy. She knits so I had to just post on her Facebook page about Kate as a designer. With a grown up boy I remember trying to find cute things for little boys and how hard it was.

I LOVE Kate's designs...I drool over them on Ravelry!!! Kate, each of your patterns is very unique, despite the fact that there are so many designers out there. How do you come up with new ideas to keep things fresh???

I would love to hear how Kate made the transition from knitting and thinking of things you'd like to design to actually designing patterns - do you have any recommendations for those interested in designing?

I love the many hats that Kate has designed, but hope she keeps up with her adult line, because what she has designed has been fantastic and I'd love to see more of it! The Mary Swanson Vest is one of my favorite designs.

Love the patterns and am excited to look forward to some upcoming new designs. I would be interested to know what how Kate chooses which yarn color to make each project with. Because she likes the color? because it seems to fit the design? etc.

I love that hat in the picture. I have been wanting to knit a vest so this would be perfect! I can't wait to look at Kate's other patterns. I am a newbie, so forgive me for not having seen them before!

Kate, I am so jealous of your ability to be a "finisher" instead of a "starter who leaves projects halfway done scattered around the house"! :) I have to be REALLY into a pattern/project to get it done before starting something new.

Kate-2 questions...1)As a PHD candidate, I'm assuming you've sat through your fair share of boring seminars... any opinion about knitting in class?2)You have a brimmed tot topper (brown), any suggestions for making the brim stiff?

My question for anyone would be what to do with those single skeins we all end up with... I have many, in several weights and colors, along with scraps from old projects. I would love to combine them into something new but am lacking inspiration...Thoughts?Thanks for the giveaway, as always. That pink is shockingly beautiful1

Another great interview. thank you-Kate mentioned Spud & Chloe yarns in one of her answers - which reminded me of anther Children's hat knitter - Susan B Anderson the voice of Spud & Chloe on their blog. Which brings me to my question for Kate - are there any knitting blogs that she reads regularly? Which is her favorite?

Great interview. Per the call for more questions: 1) Do you use any design software, especially when charts, etc. are necessary? If so, which do you recommend? 2) You have your pattern photos professionally shot and you also hire tech editors -- for budding designers, what are reasonable costs of these and other services necessary to produce professional patterns? 3) I notice you use a variety of yarns. Do you just buy what appeals to you and then stash-dive when you have an idea for a design? What qualities do you look for in yarns?

Kate, did you find it hard to design at first, or did it just come naturally? And do your boys wear things you make? I have two little boys and I find it hard to make things for them because I just can't seem to find anything to fit their personalities just right.

I'm really glad to have found Kate's designs. Having 3 boys, it's extremely difficult to find patterns for them. I'm almost afraid to show them the hats, as I know they will not be able to pick just one. LOL!

Thank you for providing this interview. I love the information available on Kate's blog about how she goes about designing. I have often seen stuff in a store and thought "that is so cute" with no real plan of trying to make my own version. Your designs are beautiful and elegant! Thank you so much, Kate, for the inspiration!

Kate - do you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed with the "work" aspect of your knitting? Designing/planning/testing - wishing you could just simply...knit...Of course, I LOVE your designs and certainly hope you never get tired of putting your patterns out there for us :) I've had your cardi/vest in my faves for a while now!!! Just haven't had the time to get to it yet.

I would love to know more about how Kate chooses a particular hat shape when she's beginning to design a pattern. also, what are some important features/lessons you have learned from designing for children?

I absolutely LOVE that hat pictured. I think I need to knit that one for myself and then fight the teenagers to keep it from them. I also love the vest. I'm off to investigate Kate's patterns on Ravelry - thanks for the post!

as a new-ish knitter with a small boy i am excited to see all of kates designs for hats. they are so cute.it is hard to find boy styles, so thank you. i am also interested to see the grown up adult designs too. kate, keep up the good work :D

ooh that cardi vest looks like it would be fun to knit. good luck to everyone on the drawings :D

Kate,I am a follower of your blog, so I headed right over here just like you suggested. I love your patterns. With the time limits in all of our lives how do you do it? Love the pattern, love the yarn...especially the color!